Hand values in maniac games

[GreywolfNYC]

Let's assume you're in a full ring game where 6 or 7 players are seeing the flop for 3 or 4 bets every hand.
What types of hands do you play? Do you stick to your regular guidelines, tighten up more, loosen up some, or change in some other way?

[lozen]

I still remain tight but also realize that pocket aces or kings against 6 apponets may not hold up so i tred carefully. If there are 4 or more wild players at a table I usually leave. I find that it is easy to beat 1 or 2 fish but with that many one of alawys hits.

[cvillegold]

If you can't beat them join 'em. Of course realize that the variance is huge in this game, and you could lose a lot of money. I would play til you hit one big hand, and get out to a more reasonable table, but that is just me, I am a different breed of cat [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[pollyson]

if its a ring game...i play different types of hands and try to only play in position...id play lots of scs when i get em and any suited aces or ks id also play pairs but be wary of pairs (even overpairs after the flop) i would generally decide that preflop it didnt matter what my cards were as long as they were suited or connected or something of value and i would make sure to play a good strong agressive game after the flop...there is a lot of money to be made at this game

[Mike]

I tend to play looser w/ straights and flushes and drop smaller pairs quicker.

Unless of course you have players who do not have a game at their limit and are raising to increase this limit, then I tend to play a normal game.

[k_squared]

a lot depends on how the post flop play is. If they play well post-flop, and continue to be aggressive you need to tred carefully. Play hands that work well in multiway pots, i.e. suited connectors, pairs, and strong suited cards. You shouldn't tighten up more when other people play more hands (unless you feel they are better post-flop players than you) because you are not taking advantage of your edge in pot equity. The swings will be huge in this game, but what more can you ask for? They build huge pots pre-flop with junk cards!!!

If the table is overly aggressive on all streets you will have to adjust your sense of the odds the pot is laying to account for the constant raising. If it is true that the pot is capped on the pot 100% of the time (simplifies example even if not realistic) then you should consider what odds you are getting when putting 4 bets into the pot after the flop, rather than the odds you get from calling a single bet, or even cold calling a raise! Knowing how your opponenets play will help you adjust your pot odds before the betting even happens so that you can make the best decision with your given hand. If you are not getting the odds to call your opponents 4 bets from the combination of the pot, his bets, and the expected number of callers (another factor that is difficult to figure out... and depends on the actual table), you should fold.

If the table is passive and will fold post-flop you can open up your starting requirements and try to take advantage of their weakness post-flop (both by continuing to be aggressive, and by taking your draws when appropriate).

You adjust the hands you play to account for the aggressive play of your opponents, but if you are at a table with a bunch of aggressive opponents you then have to readjust your play to account for the huge pots that are built.

-k_squared

[tanstaafl]

The way to manage the swings in this situation, IMO, is to go ultrarock. They never seem to notice when you just shut down and play only trips+,so why not rob em blind?

[k_squared]

Poker is not about managing swings... it is about winning money (at least for me!) If all you want to do is minimize the swings, you should go play at a different table.

Going 'ultrarock' will certainly fail to take advantage of this situation! And an 'ultrarock' wouldn't even play most pairs because they woul't be good enough starting hands, so you would rarely even give yourself the chance to trip up...

-k_squared

[DeanCarl]

Just my personal bias, but....

I do very well against a table with 1 or 2 maniacs. If it gets to be more than that, however, I tend to get intimidated for some reason so I usually go find another place to play.

But that's just me.

Dean

[GreywolfNYC]

We're getting way off the topic here. Let's please talk about your starting hand requirements in these games, okay?